In consideration of the environment, much interest has been recently focused on a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, a fuel-cell vehicle and the like equipped with a battery.
Accordingly, attention has also been given to a charging device for charging the battery equipped in the vehicle from outside the vehicle.
For example, a cord set for charging an electric vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-52861 includes an interrupt device having two terminal units; a housing that houses this interrupt device; a plug connected to an outlet installed in a wall surface of a building; and a connector connected to an inlet of the electric vehicle.
This cord set includes a first cord having one end connected to one terminal unit and the other end connected to the plug; and a second cord having one end connected to the other terminal unit and the other end connected to the connector.
Furthermore, the cord set includes a drum rotatably provided in the housing that houses the interrupt device and having an outer circumferential surface around which the second cord is wound. The first cord is pulled out through a hole provided in the housing to the outside of the housing. The end of the pulled out first cord is provided with a plug.
The charging device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-226817 is a wall-hung type charging device. This charging device includes a cabinet for charging; a flat plate portion formed below the cabinet; a CCID holder formed in the flat plate portion; a CCID mounted on this CCID holder; and a charging cable connected to the CCID and hooked on to the cabinet.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-161886 and the like also disclose various types of charging devices.